Once bitter rival, safety Jordan Poyer joins the other team with the Dolphins

Jordan Poyer was just days away from agreeing to sign with the Dolphins last week. He woke up well before sunrise in Costa Rica and sent a long text message to his new coach, Mike McDaniel.

Moments later, Poyer’s phone rang with a call from McDaniel.

“I picked up the phone and we talked for a good 30 minutes,” Poyer said Monday during an introductory news conference. “So much respect for him. Not just as a coach… but for overcoming a lot of things that he’s had to deal with that I can really relate to. I’m just here to shed my light and be a light and that’s exactly what he is too. You see him on ‘Hard Knocks’, you know on the field… He’s a great merit, a great, great coach and (I have) a lot of respect for him.

For years, Jordan Poyer was on the right side of a lopsided rivalry between the Dolphins and Bills. However, he joined the other team by signing with Miami after his release from Buffalo. The Dolphins officially announced the signing on Monday.

Poyer said he was ready to be released by the Bills nearly two weeks ago; the team was facing a tight salary cap situation. He finished his seven-year tenure in Buffalo with 682 tackles, 22 interceptions and 11 sacks. Poyer was also elected to the Pro Bowl and named first team All-Pro.

“It’s not something I’m going to look at and put a star on the game,” he said of facing the Bills in 2024. “I love playing football. I love being here in the warm weather, seeing the palm trees and the energy is alive, which makes me happy, yes, I’m extremely grateful to be in this position and to have this opportunity I’m going to take it and run with it and do and. to be the best version of myself that I can be, which I know I can still play at a high level and impact many games.

Last year, when Poyer was an unrestricted free agent, he openly flirted with the idea of ​​coming to Miami, where he lives during the offseason. Poyer, who lives about 30 minutes from the team’s Miami Gardens facility, has strong relationships with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and receiver Tyreek Hill, among other Dolphins. The connection to South Florida runs even deeper, as the Marlins drafted Poyer in the 42nd round of the 2009 MLB Draft.

Poyer, however, re-signed with the Bills and produced another 100-tackle season, the fourth of his career. While Poyer turns 33 in April, he said he believes he can still bring quality football to a team that has seen him do it numerous times at their expense.

“I’m very grateful, a lot of gratitude in this situation and being able to come with an open mind and an open heart to help, teach, learn, play and continue to play at a high level, which I know I can,” said Poyer. “So, again, I’m extremely grateful to be in this position and I’m ready to get to work.”

Poyer is one of several additions to a defense that has been reshaped this offseason and will implement a new scheme under coordinator Anthony Weaver.

“There’s a lot of great football players on this defense,” Poyer said, “and so you put it all together with that communication, with that trust that basically builds during the offseason and training camp and throughout the season, through the ups and downs. It’s all part of it, but with that strong foundation and that strong confidence, you can shake it all up.

With his experience, Poyer could also be a valuable mentor to fourth-year player Jevon Holland, who said Poyer was one of the players he looked up to growing up.

“He’s just an extremely athletic player, an extremely gifted player that I’ve followed and watched grow over the last few years,” Poyer said of Holland.

He added: “I want to help as much as I can. You can call me 32, I guess you call me old or whatever, but at the same time, I have a lot of knowledge about this game. And I feel like I can bring and help players to maybe seeing the game in a different light, a different perspective to make this game or even a step further, helping me in certain situations. This connection is important. So we have to work together? It’s not just me there. It’s not just about Jalen (Ramsey), (Kendall) Fuller or Holland. We are a group and (if) we play good team football, everything is the limit for us. That’s something that OTAs are all about, basically training camp, is building those relationships, building those bonds, learning about each other and continuing to grow. This is why we are here.